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Welcome to Am I Infected

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

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Author
Topic: PLEASE, EXPERTS, HELP!!!!!!!!! (Read 13969 times)

First, I want to say thank you.Second, I want to apologize.Third, I want to say thank you again.

After all these illegitimate fears, I had a day off today and something in me helped me get the nerve to go out and get a rapid Hiv test - much to none of the EXPERTS (and I do mean EXPERTS) surprise, it was negative. I also met with a counselor there, and she set me up with an outpatient meeting with a clinical psychologist to discuss my obvious irrational level of anxiety about sex/hiv/the combination, etc.

I want to say thank you because you guys are amazing - you take time out of your lives, on a daily basis, to help people like myself, as well as, more importantly, people with legitimate concerns. It's invaluable. You're helping people whose faces you'll most likely never see; that's a true mark of humanitarianism.And I want to apologize that I didn't heed your advice earlier. You guys are the best. Be well, and in a heartfelt manner, I say - THANK YOU.

Just one question I did have about the test - being the anxious person I am - I got the oral swab test - she had me swab the top and lower gum in my mouth - am I correct in assuming that had I not done an adequate job of swabbing my upper and lower mouth, that the control line would not have shown up? If that is the case, I am certainly willing to accept my negative result, by the way!!

Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result orno-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.

That post above was serious - I do have an outpatient appt. scheduled in 2 weeks with a psychologist - they had me meet with a counselor as my 20 min. test was going....she gave me a few good names to choose from, I did, and together we set-up an appt.I wasn't here refuting my results, and I'm not going to come back in a few days saying "should i wait another 10 weeks, etc...." My question was just more of a scientific one about what the control specifically meant, etc.....anyway, I now am 100% sure that it was reliable, and again, I thank you all for your time, help and patience; and I apologize if what I posted today came off the wrong way; introspection is key, and in that regard, I feel like I've made a strong first step in acknowledging that my fear is irrational and that I need some outside help.Ihope you all are doing well. Tahnks again for everything.

Hey guys - so I met with a counselor, and I thought it helped me for a bit, but here I am again - she tried helping me and told me that I had abstracted HIV to beign something larger than life for some reason and that was the basis of my fears....I meet with her once a month about this and other obsessive concerns I have - - but here I am again - I have another situation to ask you about -

I went to a strip club, first time in a hwile, thinking I would be ok to handle it - anyway, got a lap dance from a girl - she was not wearing any underwear -s he grinded on me pretty hard, and at the end, I didn't ejaculate, but there was considerable "wetness" on my pants and my boxers felt damp as well - as well, the friction caused a slight cut around my glans - is this any reason to be concerned at all? Should I consider testing at all? Thanks for your help.

Hey guys - I work in the medical field.....have a history of concern with hiv risks...

anyway, was changing a gentleman's abdominal wound packing the other day (the patient is hiv positive) - i wore gloves during this - anyway, after pulling it out, I then went to open a new packing container - as I pulled hard to open the container, my hands got quite close to my face and I thought I felt some of the blood on my gloves hit my face (I had to pull rather hard and inadvertently pulled towards me).....I didn't have a ton of blood on my gloves, but I thought I felt something hit my face....should I be concerned that if some of the blood on my gloves came up towards me it may have gotten in my eye? risky? should i test/be worried?

 Please do not start a new thread every time you have another question or thought - regardless if you think your questions are related to each other or not. It helps us to help you when you keep all your thoughts or questions in one thread and it helps other readers to follow the discussion. Additional threads will be merged.

 If you cannot find your thread, click on the "Show own posts" link in the left-hand column of any forum page, under your name.

Hey guys - I work in the medical field.....have a history of concern with hiv risks...

anyway, was changing a gentleman's abdominal wound packing the other day (the patient is hiv positive) - i wore gloves during this - anyway, after pulling it out, I then went to open a new packing container - as I pulled hard to open the container, my hands got quite close to my face and I thought I felt some of the blood on my gloves hit my face (I had to pull rather hard and inadvertently pulled towards me).....I didn't have a ton of blood on my gloves, but I thought I felt something hit my face....should I be concerned that if some of the blood on my gloves came up towards me it may have gotten in my eye? risky? should i test/be worried?

Man, you are really stretching with what ifs on your latest. There was no risk.

I am going to warn you that you are on the verge of getting a Time Out here. The few very real risks for HIV transmission have been explained to you repeatedly directly as well as in the lesson on Transmission.

You need to apply that information as you forward in your life. We are not here to respond anew everytime you have another anxious moment.